Oh, by the way — while we voted entirely fairly and within the parameters of the poll, I am still getting a lot of hate mail and a few tweets from wingnuts bitterly complaining about how we “stacked the vote” (I think that means “outvoted”) and how it was more American imperialism. Sorry, guys, we voted on an atheist issue, and we atheists are global, and besides, atheists are a larger percentage of the Australian population than the American. So suck it up.

Also, your pal Andrew Bolt is an inflamed dingleberry denialist, so scientists (another international community) were quite happy to see his global warming denial FUD squeezed out of the victory circle. Ha ha and all that. Stuff it, pseudoscientists.

Comments

Although I used my 7 votes for a different question which didn’t get up about asylum seeker children in detention centres, which is something I’m also very passionate about, I am glad this question is being asked. That money is being spent on this in our public school system is abhorrent to me. Whether it results in any truth being told remains to be seen though as she is beholden to some Catholic MPs who have enabled her to succeed in her leadership challenge.

And the response boiled down to the fact they have introduced a qualifications requirement to the program and getting positive feedback from teachers and principals. She completely skated around the issue of why this couldn’t be just as easily accomplished by a non-religious counseling program instead of religiously based chaplains.

Not really unexpected all facts told. Given the way she’s squeezed between the greens and more conservative independents and WA Nationals to hold onto a majority in the lower house I pretty much expected an exercise in being as bland and uncontroversial as possible.

Sophia, Michelin-starred General of the First Mediterranean Iron Chef Batallionsays

Eh… I’m not even going to bother with the answers, as for very obvious reasons they’ll be in PollieSpeak – IE waffle with no real substance.
What I do take away from this exercise is that the government has been alerted to three issues that the public are really quite pissed off about. The actual answers are immaterial.

The :dingleberry denialist” questions were still asked and answered. Starting at the 15 min mark. Not sure about the asylum seeker children in detention centres question though. Maybe that too will be asked.

Only just made it past the Bolt dolt and his absurd question.

Meanwhile in New Zealand:

BIBLE IN SCHOOLS SPOKESMAN LIES ON BREAKFAST.

Churches Education Commission’s Simon Greening claims his Religious Instruction program is approved by the Ministry of Education. This is false. CEC Bible classes use a legal loophole known as the ‘Nelson Dodge’ to close schools only for the duration of Bible class, this allows unapproved subject matter into the classroom and is done outside the normal protections of the Education Act.
The Bible in Schools group has previous breeched the Advertising Standards Authority rules for making this exact same claim, who called the claim “exaggerated and misleading”…

She should have just said “political expediency” and then STFU. This was the only bit I watched but I assume this was her real answer to all of the questions. “Gillard coulda been great.” Indeed. So sad.

Should religious groups have access to state schools to preach their faith? Peter Harrison of the Humanists & Rationalists of NZ and Simon Greening of the Churches Education Commission go head to head in studio.